Snack demands and tent building: surviving the June Holidays with kids

It’s officially the June holidays, and my six-year-old made it his personal mission to wake up well before sunrise. Not “just before” — I’m talking rooster-still-sleeping, stars-still-out early. From the moment his eyes open, it’s go-time: snack negotiations begin, toy troops are mobilised, and I haven’t even had my coffee yet.

The biggest challenge? Keeping him entertained without the constant crutch of screen time. So, in a moment of desperation (and nostalgia), I introduced him to the joy of tent building — or as he proudly calls them, “forts.” Suddenly, I’m a structural engineer every second day, having to dream up unique designs that pass his very serious “vibes” test. He even has interior decorating requests, which mostly involve hijacking my ornaments and scatter cushions. RIP to the vase that once lived peacefully on the table.

On the plus side, we’ve (somewhat accidentally) cracked the screen-time code. The fort-building fun now serves as both entertainment and a behaviour-based reward system: no fort, no phone. And no — it’s not his own phone. I'm firmly in the “not-at-six” camp. It’s a hand-me-down device he borrows depending on how the day (and the behaviour) goes. No judgement to those who do things differently — this just works for us.

Now, while the fridge has seen better days (RIP yoghurt tubs, fruit stashes, and the chips that disappeared like magic), there’s one big silver lining: he’s great with his baby brother. They’re like a little comedy duo — messy, loud, but honestly adorable. That said, my nerves take a knock every time baby brother decides to copy something daring big brother does. I swear I feel a grey hair pop up with every jump off the couch.

A special shout out must go to Dr. Marlene le Roux from Artscape for organising us tickets to see Bluey Live! The show delivered a powerful message about younger siblings copying older ones, and it hit home in a big way. Big brother took it to heart — he walked out of that theatre proudly declaring, “I’m a role model now.” Bless his little soul.

The cold has kept us indoors — which is probably for the best because I simply can’t juggle sick kids, work, and being a wife, mother, fort-architect, and human snack dispenser. Touch wood.

But seriously, why do kids always need a snack or urgent attention the second you get on the phone? And the talking... oh the talking. I finally get what his teacher means when she says he’s “chatty.” The stream of consciousness is nonstop. From dinosaurs to Minecraft to why clouds don’t fall — it’s a running podcast in my living room.

So here we are. One week down, two more to go. If anyone’s looking for me, I’ll be in Fort Version 6.3, rationing yoghurt, hiding my ornaments, and praying for warmer weather... or at least a silent moment.

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus